Lotus Esprit GT3 Sports 300 Le Mans

Historic Registration in Duabi 

This unique and rare racing car was constructed in 1993 by Lotus

Engineering in the UK on order from Lotus Australia (monarch Motor

Sport). According to Chris van Wyk, General Manager for Lotus

Australia at the time, it was a purpose built racing Sport 300

complete with factory special non-galvanized chassis and an

abundance of fibreglass components.

Originally delivered in Monaco White colour there was 6 vehicles

that were built to near identical specifications as the cars that ran in

the 1993 Le Mans event in France and it’s current livery replicates

those cars. This is believed to be the only one left in existence.

According to all documentation the vehicle is said to have cost in

excess of 200,000 GBP to build and was invoiced by Lotus Cars Ltd

(UK) on February 25, 1993 and air freighted to Tullamarine Airport in

Melbourne, Australia arriving on March17, 1993. The car was

received on the airport tarmac by Lotus Australia chief mechanic

Paul Mc Creery who remembers the occasion fondly.

Margaret’s pedigree was obvious, if not stunning, and this was

reflected in her achievements. In almost every race she entered

she qualified in pole position. In 1993, at the hands of Larry Perkins

and co-driver Ron Barnacle she set new record after new record for

fastest lap in the Bathurst 12 Hour Endurance Race. This record

remained unbeaten for no less than a further 8 years. The car

performed admirably for 7 1/2 hours of the 12 hour even before

finally succumbing to mechanical failure.

In 1994, driven by Brad Jones, the car took out the Australian GT

Championship. The GT Production rules at the time restricted the

extent of modifications and changes and in order to comply with the

rules the car had to retain many of its ‘standard production’

features, including full dashboard, console, power windows, power

mirrors and door cards.

In 2018 Shannon’s Insurance valued the car and accepted agreed

value of $1,000,000 AUD when it attained “historic” status.

Documentation is available as confirmation. To those who know

Lotus cars, to those who know ‘Margaret’, she is impressive. From

her arrival onto racetracks in 1993 she has been the most

successful of any Sport 300 to have ever raced and is now believed

to be the last remaining of the 6 that were produced to the

specifications.